Vijayan dubs as "absurd" talks of CM's resignation

Amid bickerings in the party over the SNC Lavalin graft case, CPI-M Kerala state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday rejected as "absurd" the speculation that the current round of trouble would lead to his rival and Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan's resignation.

" Such talks are totally absurd", Vijayan, whose prosecution has been sought by CBI in the case, told reporters near in Malappuram when asked whether he thought that the present stand-off would ulitmately result in Achuthanandan's resignation.

"Why do you have such doubts? Keeping unnecessary doubts is not good", Vijayan said when asked if the LDF government would complete its term under Achuthanandan.

Vijayan, who is now on his state-wide 'Nava Kerala March,' termed as "incorrect" reports that police had been asked to keep a vigil over the party offices in the state as infighting could soon reach a flash-point with rival factions trying to take over party units.

The long-drawn feud in the party's state unit had aggravated in the wake of the CBI's move to prosecute Vijayan in the Lavalin case pertaining to awarding of a contract involving a huge amount to a Canadian firm in mid-1990s when Vijayan was power minister.

While the central leadership and almost all state leaders of the party have rallied behind Vijayan, Achuthanandan has refused to back his estranged colleague.

The CPI (M) polit bureau is slated to discuss the Lavalin issue at its meeting scheduled for February 14.